Knowledgebase

Create passwordless login with SSH keys and PUTTY

Benefits of passwordless login with SSH keys

If VPS/Dedicated server is visible over the Internet, you should use public key authentication instead of passwords, if at all possible. This is because SSH keys provide a more secure way of logging in compared to using a password alone. While a password can eventually be cracked with a brute-force attack, SSH keys are nearly impossible to decipher by brute force alone. With public key authentication, every computer has (i) a public and (ii) a private "key" (two mathematically-linked algorithms that are effectively impossible to crack).

Setup SSH Keys on your Windows computer/laptop using PuttyGEN

Step 1

Download PuttyGEN from the maintainer's website. Scroll down until you find puttygen.exe and download either 32 or 64bit version.

Step 2

Start PuttyGEN by double clicking on its icon

Step 3

From top menu, click on "Key" and select "SSH-2 RSA" and in the bottom right box change the number 2048 to 4096

Step 4

Click "Generate" button

Step 5

Move your mouse pointer around in the blank area of the Key section, below the progress bar (to generate some randomness) until the progress bar is full

Step 6

Click the "Save public key" button & choose whatever filename you'd like (some users create a folder in their computer named my_keys)